The six-card game most of us call "cribbage" is only one branch of a wide family tree. Some of these variants are older than the standard game, some are regional, and one or two are worth trying next time your usual game feels stale.
This is the game as it was first played in the 17th century, and it remained the standard in Britain well into the modern era. It differs from the familiar game in four ways:
The result is a tighter, faster, more defensive game. With only three cards in hand, scores are much lower — a hand of eight is very good — and the discard decision carries even more weight. Purists argue it is the better game; most players find the six-card version more satisfying because the play phase actually matters.
The version described in our rules guide and played almost universally in North America: six cards dealt, two discarded, game to 121, full play through everybody's hand. Six-card cribbage became dominant in the 20th century because the extra card produces bigger hands and a much richer play phase.
Unless somebody says otherwise, this is what "cribbage" means.
A rarer expansion: deal seven cards, discard two, keep five. With five cards plus the starter, hands are counted from six cards rather than five, which produces dramatically larger scores — and dramatically more counting errors.
Because hands are so much bigger, the game is normally played to 181 points to keep the number of deals reasonable. It is a curiosity rather than a serious competitive form, but it is genuinely fun once or twice, and it is a good way to practise spotting fifteens.
Not really a variant so much as the standard rules adapted for an odd number. Everyone plays for themselves. Deal five cards each plus one card face down directly to the crib; each player then discards one, bringing the crib to four.
Play and counting proceed clockwise from the dealer's left, and the deal rotates the same way. Three-handed boards have three tracks. Games are still to 121.
Strategically it is a different animal: with three hands in play the count reaches 31 constantly, runs get extended by players you were not watching, and the crib arrives only every third deal. Defensive discarding matters more, since you are feeding an opponent two deals out of three.
The form most often played in clubs and tournaments. Partners sit opposite each other and share a single score. Deal five cards each; every player discards one to the dealer's crib.
Only one player of each partnership handles the pegs. Partners may not discuss their hands or signal — and, by equally firm tradition, spend the entire game doing so with their eyebrows.
Partnership play adds a genuine layer of strategy. Setting your partner up for a 31, declining a pair because your partner probably holds the third card, and discarding to protect your partner's crib rather than your own are all real considerations.
Two- and three-player games are every-player-for-themselves; four-player games are played as partnerships. All three are supported on web and iOS, and players on different platforms can sit at the same table.
Strictly a rule option rather than a variant, but it changes the feel of the game completely. Under muggins, if you finish your count having missed points, your opponent may call "Muggins!" and peg the overlooked points themselves.
It is standard in tournament play and it makes accurate counting a skill with teeth. It is also merciless on beginners, which is why most casual groups leave it off and why it is off by default here.
If you do play it, agree in advance on the window — usually the claim must be made before the next card is dealt or the next hand is counted.
Also called Losers cribbage. Everything is played normally, but the first player to reach 121 loses. You are trying to avoid scoring.
It sounds like a joke and it is surprisingly demanding. Every instinct you have built up is inverted: you keep barren hands, throw your best cards into the crib you do not want, and spend the play desperately trying not to complete runs. Pegging becomes an exercise in avoidance, and the forced-play rule — you must play a card if you legally can — becomes your enemy rather than a formality.
Worth one evening. It will teach you more about which cards actually score than a month of ordinary play.
After the deal but before the discard, players bid points for the right to take the crib. The winning bidder's bid is deducted from their score (or added to their opponent's, depending on the house), and they take the crib for that deal regardless of who dealt.
This turns the crib from a positional advantage into a priced commodity, and it rewards accurate evaluation of what your six cards are actually worth. Rare, but a genuine test of judgement.
The best-known single-player form is Cribbage Squares. Deal cards one at a time and place each into a 4×4 grid; once placed, a card cannot be moved. When the grid is full, turn one more card as the starter and score all four rows and all four columns as cribbage hands.
Sixty-one is a respectable target; anything over 80 is a genuinely good game. It is an excellent way to drill your counting, because you score eight hands per deal and every one of them is your own fault.
Simpler versions exist too: deal yourself six cards, discard two, cut a starter, and keep a running total against a par score over a fixed number of deals.
These turn up constantly and are worth agreeing on before the first deal:
| Variation | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Game to 61 | One trip around the board. Shorter, luckier, good for a quick game. |
| Three-point skunk | A skunk scores three games in a match rather than two. |
| Skunk line at 90 | Some boards mark it; the standard threshold is failing to reach 91. |
| No last-card point | An inheritance from five-card cribbage. Uncommon, but it exists. |
| Two for a misdeal | The non-offending player pegs 2 instead of simply redealing. |
| Dealer must cut at least four | Formal cut-depth rule; prevents shallow cuts that reveal information. |
The remarkable thing about cribbage is how few of these there are. Compared with almost any other traditional card game, cribbage has stayed astonishingly stable — a player from 1650 could sit down at a modern five-card game and need almost no explanation. There is more on that in our history of the game.
Play the standard game. Two, three or four players, free against the computer.
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